Protector for taxicab-meters.



Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 'l, 1914.

W. LE R. DIXON & F. E. SHANLEY.

PROTECTOR FOR TAXIOAB METERS.

Inventors Attorneys Witnesses NmQ TED STACEEgggEENT orrron.

warren LE ROY DIXON AND FRANCIS a sHA'NLEY, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

; rno'rsc'roa'ron TAXICAB-METERS.

Specification of Letters Patent. 1 Patnficd 29 19 14 Application filed February 7,1914. Serial No. 817,377.

'1 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that We, VAL'rEn L; DIXON and FRANCIS E. SHANLEYQCitlZQIlS' 'Of thfi United states resid ing at Pittsburgh-in the county of Allegheny, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a' new"and useful Protector for 'llaxicab Meters. of which the following is a specification. f

The present invention appertains to an appliance for protecting the actuating mechanism of a taxicab meter, whereby the same may not be tampered or interfered withyby the chauffeur or other unwarranted or ma licious persons without so injuring the de'-' vice, as to create suspicion or detection.

Another object of'thepresentinvention is to provide a protector of the nature indicated which will eliminate the use'of the ordinary seals for protecting -th'e'meter and its actuating mechanism, it'being in many cases possible for the fchauifeuri or others-to break the seals for releasing the mete -and to later "apply' new seals" to' 'avoid detection. Asa more specifie-object,-the 'present invention aims to provide uniquecases 'foriinclosing the ends of the flexible meter 'actuatin e shaft, which are connected 'tojthefime ter shaft and the actuating gear.':in 'connec tion with a tubing or housing forthesaid flexible shaft which has its ends connected to the said cases in anovel manner, the 'cases including removable covers or closures which are normally retained in place by suitable key-controlled locks.

It is also within the scope of the present invention to provide a contrivance of the nature indicated-for preventing tampering with the meter and its actuating mechanism, whereby the owner of the taxicab, or the eha u ffeurs employer. will not be liable to be defrauded and which contrivance or device is comparatively simple, compact-,and inexpensive in construction, as well as being convenient, serviceable, practical and eflicient in its use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds. the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being .understood" that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made with in the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention'h-as been illustrated in its preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawing,'=wherein i igure lais an elevation of-the appliance as in-use','parts being shown 'inseeti'on, and parts being broken away. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sec-tional-view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig-'15? 7 In'the' drawing, there-has been'designat ed atl, an'ordinary taxi-cab niete'r'g'which is usually mounted upon an angular braelret 2, secured 'to the body 'of the taxi-cab or motor vehicley the [meter case" having depending securing means 3 engaged:through' theshelf portion'of the bracket 2. and the meter shaft' i depending and :being journaled through th'e shelf portion of the bracket2; also. "One en'd of the flexible actuating shaft is s'ecure d within the lower flend"- of thc meter shaft- 1 by means of a cotterfpin or securing member 6, while the other f ior lower end of-thej flexible 's ha'ft is' securedwithin' one-' trunnion 7 the-actuating gear 8", iby ineans of a cotter pin orseeuiinginember99 The'gear' 8 whichh'as spiral-threads'u'pon its periphery. isarranged; as ordinarily to be given an intermittent-for step by'step movement by meansofa tappet (not shown)" carried by one of the forward wheels of the motor vehicle--{T led The 'foregding pa'rts'are common in taxicab meters-and-it is the primary object of the present invention to provide means for protecting the flexible shaft 5, and the con nections or couplings between the flexible shaft and the meter shaft and actuating gear 8, whereby the meter cannot be disconnected by the chauffeur or driver.

In order to protect the upper end of the shaft 5, a caselO having its bottom open. is secured to the bottom of the shelf portion of the bracket 2, by the securing means 3, the said securing means being inclosed by the case 10 to prevent the same from being released. The case 10 is provided with a removable bottom or closure 11', the rear end having an inturned roundedlip l2,- and the rear end of the cover or closure ll'having a curved flange 13- adapted to engage over the lip 12 to lock the rear end of the cover 11 to the rear end ofthe base 10, and

ing theforward end of the cover,th'e lock 14 including a key-barrel l5 engaging through the cover 11. and a spring pressed latch bolt 16 engageable over a keeper or lug 17 provided upon the inner face of the forward. end of the case 10. Thus, when the flange 13attherear end of the cover 11 forward end of the cover is swung against the-forwardr endof the case 10,:thelatch 16 is arranged to snap overithe keeperylugtfl for ,locking'the cover in place, and-to pre vent the case from being opened without the assistance of the proper key. gap-v" i v The meter shaft iterminates zwithin the case 10 whereby the securing meanscfifoofm pling the upper end of'theiflexibleshaft 5 and the: lower end .of the metershaft to gether," will be ihousedrandi protectedi The cover or bottomililqof the lease 10 is provided :Wlbh a depending or= outstanding tubular portion--18, which has :an intur-ned lip or;- flange -19 ,at'aits ifreeioralpweraend, the tfubulariportion LS-being dispQsc'd below an being =waxia1; 'with' the metenshafe a, and the-flexible actuating shaflzi extending throughithe saiditubulai' portikmlia s The flexible;'shaftgfihextends through a tubing'20, theeupper end of the tubing 20 being passed, loosely through the restricted aperture'formed :by the flange or lip-1,9 of the tubular porti0n l8, jand ha-vingran outstanding flangebori-ilip 21,- disposed within the-tubular portion 18 and seating upon the flange or lip 19 =wh'ereby the upper end of the tubing 20 will be-anchored=to-the bottom-or cover of the case-:10 in-.an-..efl"ective manner. I

It is to be noted, at this point, that the tubular pout-ion 18 in fitting slidably upon the upper end'of the tubing or sheathing 20, will permit the cover 11, to be readily opened and closed, 'the' tubular portion 18 sliding upon the upper end-portion of the tubing 20. The tubing 20 may also rotate or oscillate with respect to the cover: 11 without interferingwith the connection of the=tubing with the said cover.

The present invention furtherincludes a case 22 forprotecting the actuating gear 8 and the connection or coupling between the lower end of the flexible shaft 5 and the: said gear, the case 22 and associated partsgener'ally' resembling the case 10 and accompanying parts abovedescribed. The case 22 is provided with the removable'lid or cover.23, and is also-provided with a partition 24:, between its sidesiand adjoining one end, to provide an opensided compartment '25 between the saidpartition and the other end for normally housing theactuating-gea-r 8. r

That-end of the case 22- adjoining the gear 8 is provided w-itha curved lip 26 at its free edge,-and the corresponding end of the cover or lid 23 is provided with a curved flange 27 to engage or hook under the lip 26, similar to the lip 12 and flange 13 above described. Thus, one end of the cover 23 may bereadily engaged to one end of the case 22 whereby the said cover may be closed against the case 22. is engaged over the lip" 12, and when" the In order to lock the free end of the cover or lid 23 to the end of the case 22 opposite that end having the lip 26, the key-controlled lock 28.is disposed within the compartment 29 between the partition 2& and the adjoining end of the case, the lock 28 including a key-barrel 30 extending through thebottom 'of the case 22, and a spring pressed latch bolt 31 engageable with an apertured keeper 32 carried by the free end of the cover23and adapted to swing withinthe respective end of the case 22. when the lipand flange 26 and 27, respectively, are interengaged, and when the cover 23;;is'swung elosed, the keeper 32 will be engaged by thelatch bolt 31 ;to lock the cover in pla ce';, and prevent the case 22 from Being opened except by means of a proper The cover or lid-23 is providedwvith an, upstanding tubular portion 33 receiving the trunnion '1: of the gear 8,21. bushing-3l being threaded or" otherwise; engaged within the basal portion of the tubular portion 33 for-journaling the; trunnion in place, and .a similar bushingor bearing 35 is engaged through the bottom of the case 22 for journaling the other trunnion 36 of the gear, the inner or adjoining ends of the bushings or bearing 34 and 35 ...preferably being flanged toengage the faces or sides of the gear 8.

=Thetubular portion 33 is provided at its freeor upper end with an inturned flange or lip 37, through which the lower end of the tubing 20 is passed loosely, the lower end of the said tubing being provided with an out turned flange or lip 38 fitting loosely within the tubular portion and adapted to rest against the flange or lip 37, whereby the lower end of the tubing 20 will be etfectively anchored to the cover 23 of the case 2-2. ln this manner. the tubing 20 which sheaths or houses the flexible shaft 5, has its terminals loosely anchored to the cases 10 and 22, to ordinarily prevent the detachn'ieut of the tubing 20 from either of the cases.

In practice. the case 22 is carried by one .of. steering knuckles 39, as usual, by means of a suitable bracket 40, whereby the actuating gear 8 will be held in cooperative relation with the respective steering wheel to be actuated by the'tappet (not shown) carried bv the said wheel.

A flexible section 41 is preferably interposed in the tubing or pipe 20, to permit the said tubing or pipe to flex intermediate Thus,

its ends, due to the movement of the vehicle body with respect, to the steering knuckle 39 carrying the case A coupling sleeve 42 is also preferably interposed in the tubing or pipe 20 for enabling the tubing or pipe to be opened or separated intermediate its ends, for convenience in applying and detaching the tubing, or for opening the tubing for other purposes.

From the foregoing, the several advantages, of the present appliance will be obvious, Without lengthy comment. It is to be noted that with the present device, the chaufl'eur or other person cannot tamper with the actuating mechanism for the meter, without detection. In this manner, the chauffeur or other person is prevented from disconnecting the meter from the actuating mechanism, which is not infrequently done by maliciously inclined chauffeurs, to defraud the owner or employer.

The present device eliminates the employment of seals for protecting the meter and its actuating mechanism, it being well known that in many cases, these seals, are broken open and replaced without detection.

The cases 10 and 22 may be readily opened, through the medium of proper keys, when it is desired to make repairs or to replace the flexible shaft 5. The present device also serves as an ornamental finish for the meter actuating mechanism, by inclosin or housing the same.

aving thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a device of the character described, a pair of cases adapted to house the couplings between a flexible shaft and a meter shaft and actuating member, respectively, each case including a removable cover through which the flexible shaft is adapted to pass, means for locking the covers in place, and a tubing through which the flexible shaft is adapted to pass, and having its ends anchored to the said covers.

2. In a device of the character described,

a case adapted to house a coupling between a flexible shaft and another member disposed within the case, a removable cover for the case having means for the passage of the flexible shaft, means for locking the cover to the case, and a tubing through which the flexible shaft is adapted to pass, and having one end anchored to the said means.

3. In a device of the character described, a case adapted to house a coupling between a flexible shaft and another member disposed within the case, a cover for the case having means for the passage of the flexible shaft, one end of the cover and one end of the case having interengageable means for permitting the cover to be swung open and closed, and key-controlled means for locking the other end of the cover and case to ether, and a tubing through which the exible shaft is adapted to pass, and having one end anchored within the said means through which the flexible shaft is adapted to pass.

4. In a device of the character described, a case adapted to house the coupling be- .tween a flexible shaft and another member disposed within the case, a removable cover for the case, means for locking the cover to the case, the cover having an outstanding tubular portion through which the flexible shaft is adapted to pass, the free end of the tubular portion having an inturned flange, and a tubing through which the flexible shaft is adapted to pass and having an outturned flange at one end disposed within the said tiibular portion and engageable with the aforesaid flange.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own, we have hereto aflixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

WALTER LE ROY DIXON. FRANCIS E. SHANLEY.

Witnesses:

J NO. L. OCONNOR, Jos. R. BORLAND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

